I thoroughly researched the JDRF website, looking for helpful tips about traveling with diabetes: airline requirements, changing time zones, transporting insulin, etc. Upon our arrival in San Diego, we found our warm and loving friends, who let us rest a bit, and then squired us around what they call "Old Town".
M was a bit groggy from a day of traveling, and seemed to be faltering as we climbed the stairs to a Mexican restaurant that our friends frequented. M whined that she wasn't hungry, but I figured that since her energy was low, sitting down in a pleasant atmosphere might not be the worst thing she could do.
Once seated, I asked her to check her bg.
It was 47 mg/dl.
In a panic, M began chowing down on the complementary nachos. I remember that day as being the first that M looked really scared since she had been diagnosed.
A 47 wouldn't scare us a much now, since we have seen her bg range from 22 to 525 over the past two+ years. But it didn't bode well for our travel experiences.
Sometimes we are right on, and everything goes great.
But more often, some minor disaster occurs that necessitates the summoning of my inner MacGyver.
Case in point: last year's trip to Manomet.
M had packed her belongings carefully, and checked the contents of her fashionable diabetes fanny pack twice.
We loaded the car, and about a half hour into the drive, I asked M if she remembered her "diabetes stuff". She assured me that she had. Since this is a near-daily interaction, I was neither concerned nor suspicious that she had not remembered everything.
Two hours later, at the beach, M wanted to eat some lunch. She looked for her fanny pack, so that she could check her blood sugar and make all of the necessary calculations, but couldn't find it in her room. We decided that it must be in the car. She searched. I searched. No fanny pack.
Being a mom, I searched every inch of luggage, beach equipment, and rolled-up towel that we had. M decided that she must have left the fanny pack right where she keeps it at home: next to her seat at the dining room table.
This was a major bummer. First of all, she was on the Luxura pen at the time. The pen was at home. As was her bg meter, Sweet Tarts, glucagon kit, and test strips.
The good news was that she had packed some extra supplies in her suitcase and the cooler.
We took inventory: test strips, extra Humalog cartridges for the pen, a vial of Lantus, 10 syringes, a half box of pen needles.
Hmmm, how could we make this work? We had no way to test M's bg, and no way to administer the fast-acting Humalog for meals.
M did have an appointment at Children's Hospital in a few days. Was there something we could do until then?
I called the diabetes hotline at the hospital.
Me: "Uh, Duuuhhh. I am an idiot mother who didn't verify the presence of my daughter's diabetes stuff when we left for vacation. Any suggestions?"
The hotline nurse was super helpful, and didn't even hint that I was a completely disorganized bag of moronhood.
I gave her my inventory list, and explained our financial limitations.
The plan became this:
1) Buy a new meter (cost: about $19).
2) Use the syringes to CAREFULLY remove the Humalog from the Luxura pen cartridges.
3) Inject insulin as needed.
4) At our appointment, request a new sample of a Luxura pen.
5) Resume life as if nothing had happened.
Considering that the alternative was driving home and back (a total of 5 hours), or missing our vacation, the proposed solution brought tears of relief to my eyes.
When we went to our appointment that week, our DNE scolded us mildly, and reminded us that using a pen cartridge in such a manner was less than ideal (apparently the cartridges are very fragile), but was in good cheer when she saw that we kept M's bg in check.
This year's Manomet trip was also fun. Especially since, being an emerging adult, M was very self-conscious about making any mistakes.
In addition to guessing what her blood glucose reading might be, we had the additional challenge, unbeknownst to me, of not having enough insulin or test strips.
M revealed her secret when she could no longer keep it: the day her insulin would run out (also the day that I learned that she was not testing her bg levels).
The solution was two-pronged.
I made some calls to the local pharmacy, who transferred M's Humalog prescription to Manomet.
We used the old meter that M had packed with her corresponding test strips as a back-up. This meter did not automatically communicate with her pump. She tested her bg on that meter and plugged in the numbers necessary on her pump.
It wasn't until she reminded me about last year, that I understood her trepidation about sharing her mistake.
She said to me, "Mom, maybe YOU should pack my diabetes stuff for me."
But she's not getting off that easy.
I said, "No, but the next time you go away, I will double check that you packed what you think you packed. As a young adult, you need to pack it yourself."
M nodded in agreement, and the rest of the car ride went smoothly.
She is going away on a Catholic retreat this weekend. She has already made her D-list.
She has checked it twice. And so have I.
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| And a whole bunch of diabetes stuff.... |
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